CPP Aardvark final piece

CPP Aardvark DoorStormers from pie face on Vimeo.

this collaboration piece is our final video for the CPP Aardvark project.

Had great fun making it and love to watch it

Enjoy!

stormy waves

playing around with maya

a short version of a camera within a stormy ocean. the ocean causes the camera to move as it does

here is my creation

Thought that this was amazing. It reminded me of one of our first projects and brought back some good, fun memories.

Enjoy everyone

psyop- guinessdot

I bloody love this video. Amazing concept, beautiful visuals and the turn out...look for yourself

Shilo- City of God

I added this piece to my blog as i feel that it has a great blend of humour alongside amazing visuals.
The use of Monotone shades and spot colouring reminds me of Sin City however, this animated style allows for the playfulness of the environment and characters humour to be brought out.

Shilo is a company which i am really interested in and wish to explore further

lighting test

Desaturation Tests with light intensity

stairwell construction

construction screen shots

alley test

my original idea was to create the walls within the title sequence out of many bricks.
After 9000 bricks, i decided the render time would be too high and so the idea was scrapped for a simpler one

Renaissance

Whilst looking into styles for the TV intro, i thought back to a Animation which i have seen many times. The style intrigues me and would love to be able to recreate this in my own way.

Horror Genre

Research for horror genre TV series

A selection of Title Sequences:


Rod Serling's Night Gallery



tales from the crypt



Tales from the Darkside

These, although not that scary from my perspective, were back when they were made.
I especially like the music used in some of them. They help creep out the audience.

airsoft comp test

i decided to have a play with the camera in After Effects to see what the results would look like.
I used simple text and a photo that i'd played about with in Photoshop.
This test is simply to see if a camera looks good moving past text and images.



My thoughts are that it looks good however, will be improved when i use more texture and create my own typeface. Animating the elements will also increase the visual appeal.

Any opinions and suggestions are welcome

Airsoft

One of my initial ideas for this project was to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I was asked to make a trailer style intro for an Airsoft Team in London and as part of my research, here is the link to their website.

http://www.teamtbag.co.uk

Appropriation- Del Toro

As I looked into the inspiration for Guillermo Del Toro for the previous exercise, I thought that using the same person but looking into their work in a different way would be useful in further developing my knowledge of said person, whilst also relating it to the ideas of Post Modernism.

I decided to choose ‘Appropriation’ as my starting point and then see if, and how, it links with Del Toro’s work.

Instead of looking with a broad spectrum in mind, I thought the ideas behind Post- Modernism and Appropriation would be easier understood by focusing in on a single piece of work or even a single scene within his films. With this in mind, I began to think back through all his films I’ve watched and ended up on ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. As I had looked into the concept of Translation within our chosen pathway, I already knew what I was looking for. My chosen scene is inside the Pale Man’s Lair in which you can see where Del Toro has used the concept of Appropriation in order to create a mood and feeling about this character.

Post Modernism is sometimes described as being, 'a shift from production to reproduction' (Heartney, 2001, p6) and the case of Appropriation, the reproduction aspect is 'taking possession of something, or taking something over' (Ward, 2003, p210). This concept is usually referring to taking something without permission, however, the original artist in the case of Del Toro's source, has been dead many years thus meaning permission would be impossible.

(http://knowledgenews.net/picturethis/goya_saturn_devouring.jpg, Steve Sampson, 29/09/09)

The 'appropriation' of Goya's 'Saturn devouring one of his children' is used within the film 'Pan's Labyrinth' through both concept as well as elements being used as part of the inspiration and creation of the Pale Man character. Through looking at both this image as well as an image of the Pale Man, you can see that Del Toro has copied the eyes.

(http://media.photobucket.com/image/pale%20man/zoyd2000/panslabyrinth-paleman.jpg, anon, 29/09/09)

This direct copy of the eyes allows similar feelings to be conjured up between each character, especially if the audience is familiar with the Goya painting. Appropriation, in this case isn't as obvious as other examples, where whole pieces are taken and then just recreated over and over again. The most common examples of this would be the Queen's head and Mona Lisa.

Another example of Appropriation within this scene is the paintings on the wall of the Pale Man's lair. As the camera pans round, we focus in on a series of paintings depicting the events in which the Pale Man has taken part in. These look as if Goya's Saturn would have done this whilst also looking like the Spanish civil war paintings that he did. This is probably more of a 'Parody' of said paintings however, as they are not mocking the paintings, can it really be classed as a Parody. Its not Pastiche as Del Toro defiantly has knowledge of the paintings as well as the events which caused them. This brings us back to these paintings falling under the 'appropriation' category.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9YD2PFF31E, anon, 29/09/09) The wall paintings are 44 seconds in approx.


(http://www.worldart.com.au/images/goya-execution-of-spanish-rebels1.jpg, anon, 29/09/09)

I suppose that in these examples, appropriation is harder to see as they are used subtly unlike other examples where they are thrown in the audiences face. I feel that these examples are more like Appropriation than Pastiche or Parody as the 2P's are either mocking the original or have no concept them. In these examples, Del Toro isn't mocking the originals but rather using elements out of them as a homage to Goya.

Otto Kruijssen & Rory Snaddon

During one of the talks last year, we all had to pick out a page from a sketch book that we liked.
Although i dont usually like sketchbooks, iv found many that appeal to me and have begun to change my mind about them.

After taking this page, i began to fill in the gaps between the pages shown. All the black lines are what i have added.

ink dispersal

When penning out some ideas for the Maya part of Applied Design 2, i had an idea of ink dispersal.
Instead of just drawing the idea out, i set up a pint glass and set my camera to multi shot.
This is the result of my experiment.

Big Draw

As part of our applied design project, there was a 5 second short involved. This is going to be shown by 'Triangle' on Corporation Street in Manchester.

Here is my prep:



I drew each frame and then scanned it in and opening in an image sequence, this was then exported as a .mov

The .mov was then taken into After Effects and animated so that the scale changes at the end.
Masks were then created so that the animation was in the colours of the logo.







Finding suitable music was difficult as the style resembles Tetris but due to copyright laws, the theme tune was not allowed.
The style of Russian music closely resembles the style of Tetris and therefore was the best style for the animation.

In the end, i chose a piece called 'Euro Mania' as it had a pacey beat which tied in with the animations speed.

http://guymckinley.blogspot.com/

www.studioaka.squarespace.com

Guillermo Del Toro

I have decided to look into the inspirations and interests of Guillermo Del Toro as I admire his work style as well his creative input that he puts into all of his films. When looking into his work, I realised that he takes influences from many different things, many different aspects of the industry. These include Len Wein, creator of Swamp Thing, Dick Smith, Eyvind Earle, colourist on sleeping beauty as well as Symbolism and James Whale’ Frankenstein. These are but I few of his influences however, I have decided to look in to other ones in which the influence can be seen within his film work as well as the development for the films.

The first influence I looked at is Jack Kirby (1917-1994). As co-creator of Captain America, Fantastic 4, X-Men and The Hulk, he was and still is, one of the most prolific and influential comic book artists. As an artist and creator of comics, he wanted to work in all areas of the industry including Story telling. This is similar to the way in which Del Toro works. Although he works as director and storyteller, he also works along side the costume designers for his creatures, adding his own style and creative input. The reason he does this is because he designs his own characters within his sketchbooks. This is also similar to the style in which Jack Kirby worked. Although he didn’t always draw the characters within the comics, he wanted to design them and so added his creative input. The inspiration for Del Toro’s Hellboy films (comic character designed by Mike Mignola) also came from Jack Kirby’s ‘The Demon’. He used the ideas behind this comic book as a basis for the personality and character traits of Hellboy. The Demon being a good guy with an evil image, ‘not quite a villain but always sparking with little flushes of chaos inside’

The next of Del Toro’s influences was a huge part of Hollywood. Ray Harryhausen mastered the art of Motion picture Special Effects, more specifically Stop Motion Photography. Ray Harryhausen loved to work by himself and this meant that the SFX that he worked on sometimes took 2 or more years to do. Harryhausen worked on many classic films, such as ‘Jason and the Argonauts’, ‘The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms’ and many more. The idea of Stop Motion effects and the hand made characters/ monsters have influenced Del Toro’s creative style within his films. Within Guillermo Del Toro’s films, he prefers his creatures to be prosthetic creations as apposed to CGI. This can be seen when watching the special features on the HellBoy films. In this, most of the creatures are created using prosthetics and materials. This gives an organic feeling to the characters as apposed to a plastic feeling to them. Both Harryhausen and del Toro were influenced by the orgininal King Kong.

Another one of Guillermo Del Toro’s influences is the work of Stan Winston (1946-2008). Winston is a Oscar Winning SFX creator and make up artist. His portfolio includes many films including Terminator as well as the creating full scale animatronics of Jurassic Park. It’s this use of make up and animatronics along with Prosthetics that have influenced Del Toro to use this similar style. Guillermo Del Toro, in most circumstances, will create the creatures in his film, whether they need to be 8ft or 3ft. Anything beyond this would be harder to make and so, its this point in which he relies on SFX. Stan Winston as also worked with another one of Del Toro’s inspirations. Rob Pottin worked with Stan Winston on ‘The Thing’, one of Del Toro’s favourite films for prosthetically made creatures.

Guillermo Del Toro has been influenced by many people from all parts of the industry, and the last influence I will be looking at is Chuck Jones (1912- 2002), creator of Bugs Bunny. When looking for a way in which Del Toro was influenced by Jones, I found it hard to link the influences of the drawn animation to the films of Del Toro. It was after a while in which I found quotes by both of the artists which speak about their work whilst also linking them to each other.

Chuck Jones: ‘Animation isn’t the Illusion of Life, it is Life’

Guillermo Del Toro: ‘ All movies should be designed like animation, where the style is the substance’

It was at this point in which I realised that Del Toro likes to create his films in the style of a cartoon, so that the characters should affect their surrounds and the atmosphere, like they would do in Bugs Bunny, One of Chuck Jones’ animations.

smirnoff ice

This advert was aired roughly 2 years ago and is still one of the most powerful adverts that i remember on TV.
The things that draw me to this ad are the music, the visuals as well as the concept behind the whole advert.
The concept behind the visuals are of 'Extraordinary Purification'. The vodka is triple distilled and the ocean is now going through the same process.
The use of 3D to create the elements emerging from the ocean bed is used in a realistic as well of historical way. We see planes from WW1& 2 as well statues and pillars from the Temple of Alexandria.
The use of music increases the omnipotence as well as the extraordinary aspects of this advert. This is then enhanced with the character acting from all the sailors.

The use of 3D in this advert makes me want to go into this side of Moving Image industry.
I will further develop my research of companies who work in this way and style as its something i want to go into.

Agency

JWT

Director

Daniel Kleinman

TV Producer

Sarah Patterson

Creative

Rob Spicer, Adam Griffin

Production Co

Rattling Stick

Post Production

Framestore

Editor

Steve Gandolfi, Cut+Run

Kinetic Type- V for Vendetta

Out of all the examples on the net of kinetic type, i chose this one as i am a huge fan of V for Vendetta and the language within the film is almost lyrical in the way it is recited.
This example of kinetic type allows the audience to see what the character is saying, something which is used in foreign films.

Kinetic type, like this one, can show the emotion and tone of voice just by manipulating the size and shape of the text.

E.g LOUD quiet

oldboy teeth

The reason why i put this clip up as a separate entry is because i like this clip for different reasons to the other.
The main thing that attracts me to this one are the camera angles that are used during the scene. A mixture of close-ups and mid shots help to create a feeling of interaction. The audience feels as if they are there, administering the torture. Whether you find this an appealing or horrifying experience is down to the one viewing it.

Another reason why i love this scene is because the effects are unbelievably realistic, so much so that it makes you cringe whilst it is happening.

Oldboy

I've always been a huge fan of foreign films and this is one of my favourite films.
Oldboy is based around Dae-su oh, a drunk who is forced into imprisonment for 15years without even being told why.
With no contact to the outside world and trapped inside of a cement cell (made to look like a motel room) he slowly goes crazy. Its not until the prospect of escape comes about that he begins to act regular again. He is then given 5days to exact his vengeance.

Out of the whole film, one of my favourite scenes is that one that i have decided to post. This 4 minute scene is shot down a long corridor, one man against many.
The thing that probably attracts me to this scene most is because it has the perception of a 2D environment whilst the audience knows that it is set down a corridor. The direction on this scene, the same as the whole film, is beautifully created as well as being original (something which isnt seen that often nowadays)
The way in which this scene is set reminds me of Brechtian Theatre and the breaking down of the 4th wall. This allows the audience to be a part of the film and draws them into this world.

Other reasons why i like this film, some of which are shared by Luke, are the fact that the whole film has a dull colour scheme, making the emotions and atmosphere of the film very dark and moody. It helps the audience be drawn into this underworld of shady characters and helps you empathise with the main character. The direction and acting also makes the audience want to empathise with the main character, spurring him on and wanting him to get through the ordeal and exact the revenge he deserves.

Illusion

The reason i added this piece was because of the nature of it.
This is all to do with colour perception and how colours look different when next to other things.
Believe it or not, the blue and green colour which you probably see before you, are in fact, the same colour.

It seems as if the lines cutting through the colour blocks are constant, but instead they change, meaning the impression of two separate colours is formed.

This piece is fascinating to me as it is really experimenting with colour, the same way that we did in our first year.

WHO IS KEYSER SOZE?

One of the all time classic crime films, The Usual Suspects (directed by Bryan Singer) is one of those films which you can watch over and over again.

The reason i like this film so much is due to how the story is played out and how everything falls into place as the film ends. This film is one in which everyone watches, and no one figures it out until the very end of the film. You dont see this kind of film much nowadays which is why it makes it such a good film. No one likes a film where you've guessed the bad guy as well as the plot when your only 5 minutes into the film, it just doesn't go down that well. Luckily, The Usual Suspects doesnt allow you to do this.

The script is well written and acted out brilliantly by a stunning cast. The film is directed very well and edited just right. This film encompasses all that you need to make a good film and delivers them superbly. A must see for all film fans.

WHO IS KEYSER SOZE?

The Orphanage

Presented by Guillermo Del Toro, This film by J.A Bayona is a moving story of an Orphanage which has been closed down for many years. One of the previous children comes back many years later to re-open The Orphanage only to discover that it holds a dark secret which effects all that visit.

This film is a moving piece which holds many emotions. The story behind this film is quite moving and allows the audience to be drawn into the story line. I felt that this film had something for everyone. The story line is moving but will also appeal to the mystery and thriller audiences. There are also aspects of horror and violence in this film which means that it is an all round film which seems strung together to make an amazing experience.

Although this film is in subtitles, i wouldn't let it put any of you off watching it as i think everyone could enjoy parts of it.

Casshern

As a fan of Asian films, I'm always looking for something which ticks all the boxes for my viewing pleasure.
This film is something that i stumbled across whilst watching Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion.

Originally a anime, Casshern (Casshan) was made into a live action version whilst also using many animated elements. This film contains different methods such as CGI, silhouetted animation and even child-like snippets of animation to show that the character has a child's mind.

The story is based around a virus as well as the exploration for a cure. This leads to discoveries and terrible actions been taken. Whilst this is happening, a scientist is trying to grow limbs as part of the cure. The lab gets hit by a giant mechanical lightning bolt which causes all the limbs to form together to make the casualties of the cure exploration. They are then hunted down and executed apart from a few who escape. The scientists son has also died as part of the cure explorations and so, he decides to resurect him as well. As this action is against creation laws, there are consequences. His body is developing too quick and will burst open unless contained. He is in turn, put into a mecha/ organic suite which contains his body and gives him extra abilities. He becomes Casshern.

Although this explanation seems rather complex, this is the first 20/ 30 mins of the film which develops further and is able to explain the story line a lot better than i can.

If anyone fancies this, i have a copy which i can lend out. Its not the kind of film for everyone though so look into it more before you ask me

The Pianist

The Pianist is one of my favourite films of all time.
This films depicts the struggle of a Polish Jew in Warsaw during WWII. Alone and frightened, he struggles to survive day to day.
This film takes us through his life, from the begining of the war all the way to the end. It encompasses many aspects from the war and allows the audience to see the consequences of each action.

The film is beautifully directed by Roman Polanski. Due to the history of Polanski and how he was part of the holocaust, losing his mother and other family members, it meant that the film was directed to truly reflect the actual events that took place back then.

This film has many amazing sets which depict the true brutality and destruction of WWII as well as many scenes which show that respect for an individual can be between different countries.
You will understand if you watch this film.

All in all, i feel that this film is one of the great films of our time. This film has everything you would expect from a multi award winning film and then more. A must see for everyone.

Rice fields

Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan.Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye. Instead, different colours of rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields. As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.

These pieces of work show patience and intelligence which portray the cultural paintings of Japan. The things which attract me to this piece are that i am interested in Japanese culture, old and new. I also like the texture of art created out of rice plants.

Viagra

The only reason that this image is in my blog is that i laughed when i first saw it.
Although this would never be used in the commercial world, it does promote the product perfectly.

There isn't much that i can say about this piece without my fellow class mates thinking I'm a pervert and so I'll leave it.

Avatar

Most films which are put on hold for 10 years and take 4 years to make, usually fall short of the final production and end up lost in the endless stream of unmade films. However, this is not the case for the new film by James Cameron.

Avatar, the first major film from Cameron since Titanic, only came about due to the amazing SFX done on Lord of the Rings. It was originally supposed to be produced after Titanic but this was not to be with the estimated cost being $400m.

This film is 40% live action and 60% photo realistic CGI. 'It will use the same digital-3D camera system (developed by Vince Page ) and virtual production studio (developed by Robert Legato) that Cameron will use on Battle Angel.'

I have been looking forward to this film for a while now however, since the trailer was finally released, i am looking forward to it for another reason.
The CGI in this film looks amazing with a lot of motion capture within the CGI scenes.
When looking at the trailer, there is a certain moment which excites me. This would be when the main character, played by Sam Worthington, wheels himself off of the space shuttle. The reason that this moment excites me so much is that this actor, is the only thing within the scene. The rest of it is animated.
Other things that excite me about this film are the environment shots. The establishing shots of the jungle have an Earth feeling whilst also having a mythical, fantasy look of it. This is due to the gravity defying land masses which float above the planet.

This film is being released on 18th December and will not be attending Uni that day as i will be in the cinema

2012

Although there are more and more disaster films being released, i always look forward to seeing how they are portrayed. This trailer shows that, like most disaster films, the visual effects within this film are numerous and complex.

The SFX for this film are done by local company Double Negative, based in London. The depictions of disaster look very realistic, or as realistic as you could imagine it. With the visuals looking like this, it allows that audience to be drawn into the film and the events. This realistic portrayal of events, buildings and characters is something which i would like to investigate more, something which i would like to be able to do in the future.

heroes

The first thing that attracted me to these paintings was the cartoon/ comic book style that they portray.

After watching the series, i grew to like these paintings even more and so, began to look into the artist as well as his techniques.
Tim Sale, unlike other artists within his profession, is colour blind.
He draws and paints these images using Black, Grey and White. The illustrations are then digitally coloured and texture is added so that when they are printed onto the canvas, they look genuine.

This style of illustration and painting is something which i would like to experiment with, especially with some of the other members of my group as well as certain styles which the illustration students portray.

Tron 2

After seeing this trailer, i was as excited as a small child on Christmas morning. As a fan of the first Tron, i was quite apprehensive about the idea of a sequel however, after seeing this trailer, i feel that the sequel will be a great success.

The trailer shows how they have increased every aspect of the original whilst also keeping the initial ideas. The light bike sequence within the trailer shows how they have kept the light bikes shape and trail but improved the ergonomic design and visual excitement.

The visuals within the trailer as well as music accompanying the trailer show that this film has a darker aspect to it, even though its a Disney film. Its good to see that Jeff Bridges stars in this film as well as the original, keeping the fans of the first film excited.

After looking through the research that i'm doing, the aspects which i am more passionate about are visual effects within live action, especially the film industry. I feel that this path is what i would like to explore in the future.

Atonement

This film, although different from what most people would think i watch, is one of my favorite films within the past couple of years. After reading the book, i thought that the film version wouldn't be able to portray the series of events in the same style and emotion.

I began watching the film, wary of how the story was going to be told but, to my surprise, the story stuck to the book very well. The change in perception and time changes were done in the most convincing way possible.

If you haevn't read the book, the story was told well enough to not give any hint at what was coming next, leaving the story to tell itself without the viewer being able to guess whats going to happen.

In my opinion, this film is a must for anyone interested in films, whether they be classical films or even sci-fi films. The story is beautifully told with a script that sticks well to the book and a cast that brings the characters to life. The visuals are amazing, without being over the top, which is what gives the film its charm. According to Double Negative, the company managed, '200 challenging visual effects shots for the film. These included crowd replication, underwater environment creation, explosions, planes, smoke and beautification of buildings. One of the most challenging of these was a live-action shot on the beach at Dunkirk lasting 5 minutes and 27 seconds.'

The Knowing

Its been a while since my last blog entry due to circumstances beyond my will however, i thought id start again and begin what i like to call, 'Rory's film entries'. It will have many sequels like any Sylvester Stallone film but without the tedious and inevitable endings.

My first entry in this series is not my favourite film but instead, the film which iv only just finished watching. I decided to go against my better judgement, and actually watch a Nicolas Cage film. In my opinion, his films aren't bad, its just that fact that he has the same pose in every single film that he is in (legs astride, chest out, shoulders back, looking up every so slightly), and he manages to fit it into this film as well.

Enough of my Cage rant and more about the film.

Story: Based around a list of numbers written in 1959 which predict all major disasters happening in the next 5 decades. The list is then put in a time capsule and dug up 50 years later. Enter Nicolas Cage. Events unfold as the list predicts. Strange people turn up occasionally. Rocks are handed out. Fires! Crashes! Tears! A little bit of stalking. A man with a light in his mouth (very strange, kinda reminded me of old Greg but different orifice) More stalking, more rocks, more fire. The End

Good things:

1. It is one of the only disaster films I've seen in a long time which lives up to its promise and kills everyone on the planet earth
2. The effects are visually exciting and fairly realistic
3. The plot seems to keep the viewer hooked whilst also allowing a bit of creative thinking on the audiences behalf
4. The Ending sequence uses music as a direct contrast with the visuals and so feels very poetic

Bad things:

1. Nicolas cage is out-acted by a 9 year old
2. Very, very cheesy ending
3. Moments in the film which seem as if they were there to shock the audience, came up short and didn't cause a reaction in me
4. There are mistakes in the film such as match moving errors, where the actual props and the visual props aren't properly aligned.
5. Other errors involve factual errors, continuity errors and prop mistakes (Aussie cars, licence plates and products in America)

Serj Tankian- Lie Lie Lie

I have decided to put this video in my blog, not because its the best one out there, not because its my favourite, but instead because its completely different to anything which i have liked before.

The use of 2D puppets and Stop Motion in this video allows for a sinister story but with a child-like fairy tale theme. The reason i love this music video is down to this. The animation and song are rather sinister however, this isn't fully realised due to the childish style of animation.

The animation reminds me of Russian puppet theatre as well as the work of Teesha Moore.
If you haven't heard of Teesha Moore then dont be alarmed, I hadn't until Matt kept on mentioning her like a broken record repeating itself, over and over.

In this piece, i feel the simplicity of the animation mixed with the complexity of the process and the lyrics are really complimentary to each other.

Coldplay- Viva La Vida

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3mYc1m3lsM

This advert for itunes and Viva La Vida was on TV many years ago however, it is constantly in my mind as something which has given me inspiration to go into the business of Visual effects within Live Action.

The use of pattern, shape and colour with this piece is something which i find visually attractive. The way in which the colours and pattern develop as the music does allows for better cohesion within the video.

The reason i love this short video is due to the fact that the members of Coldplay interact with the 'coloured mist' and vice versa. The patterns and colours remind me of the aurora borealis.
The mythical look and idea of this natural event is astounding and interesting to everyone. Maybe this will have the same effect within this video?

Lee D&AD

http://awards.dandad.org/2009/categories/virl/viral/19594/bruce-lee-ping-pong


Another video which i enjoyed amongst those picked for this years D&AD is based around the game of Table Tennis/ Ping Pong and whether Bruce Lee would be good at playing it with Nunchucks.

The whole idea of this piece is a tribute to the life and films of Bruce Lee, whilst adding a comical twist to the video.

I think it was the comedy part of this video that really made it stand out for me. The comedy isn't blatently obvious as its not slapstick, however, the wit and thought process behind it is amazing. The cinematography of the piece is asking, What couldn't he do?

By showing Bruce Lee play Ping Pong, the complete opposite of fighting, its appealing to many different audiences.

One thing that attracts me to this piece is that it isn't filmed as an action sequence but instead, more like a behind the scenes documentary. This is most obvious at the beginning of the piece as a 'techie' walks in front of the camera.

As i was looking into where this clip came from, i found out a lot about this piece.
Ever since i first saw this, i thought that it was a modern clip made to look like it was from the past however, this video is actually live footage of Bruce Lee playing Ping Pong and has no CGI in it. The ball is real!

Assassins Creed 2

There is no doubt that i am a huge video games fan. I love all different genre's of games, however, its not the games that interest me the most. The cinematic trailers that are released before hand are what usually attract my attention.

In all my years of watching game trailers, there are few that get me so excited. This is one of the few.

This trailer shows all the elements of the gameplay as well as a few surprises which they have entered in this sequel. The graphics within this trailer are visually exciting and appealing in many ways. The visual elements within this trailer produce an environment which is visally astounding and beautifully created. They have taken all the elements from Venice and enhanced them. The water looks natural and the fireworks are eye catching. The buildings, costumes and characters are as they would look in the 15th Century which adds to the accuracy of the trailer and the game. As i watch this trailer, it immediately makes me want to play the game, something which a trailer should do.

9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A22F8S2maWE

Whilst looking through trailers for this years upcoming movies, i stumbled across this trailer for a film which i hadn't heard about. As i began to watch it, a whole world unfolded before me as i was met by a film which is being produced by Tim Burton (Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands etc) and directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nightwatch)

With these being 2 of my favourite directors, how was it that i hadn't heard about this film. It actually baffled me, so much so, i had to eat a pringle sandwich. The curve of the pringle crushed against the two walls of bread, it calms me down. Crunch crunch crunch, yum yum yum. Back to blogging.

The trailer shows a future where human kind seems to be extinct or on the brink of it and we are to be saved by 9 creations. This animated feature seems like it could be one of the years biggest films and is the film which i am most looking forward too out of anything. Im even more excited than when Star Trek was announced, and thats saying something.

The things that attract me most to this trailer are the unusual character designs against the backdrop of a machine controlled world. The action in this film will be artistically immense if its anything like Timur's other films. This mixed with the excitement and artistic flair found in Burton's films, it seems as if it will be a box office hit.

I also love the soundtrack to this trailer as i am a big fan of Coheed & Cambria

5 GUM

Director: Dante Ariola
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/

Advertisements are created to promote products. Some of them are more successful than others however, they are all created to fulfill a purpose. The ones which usually catch my attention are those which are witty, educated or technically beautiful.

This is still the case and the latest ones to catch my attention are those promoting '5' gum. These adverts use CGI to create an occasion/ event which recreates the feeling of using '5' gum.

I've added both of these adverts to my blog because i feel that they are visually interesting and appealing. They both promote the product very well and use the idea of 'feeling' in a simple yet different way.

Philadelphia- La Mamma Morta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0p9mTJOJI

I have seen this film many times, and each time that i watch it, a single scene always stands out for me. It originally stood out because of the use of music and passion within the scene however, after starting this course, i have began to notice more within everything.

Now, this scene stands out because of the use of music entwined with the intensity and emotion of the lighting. By using a red gel over the light as the music becomes more and more passionate, the audience can see how much passion and love the character has for the piece. It also shows the emotion of the lyrics within the music.

This is then enhanced as the lawyer character (Denzel Washington) starts to feel a connection to the character. For those who haven't seen this film, a connection between the 2 characters is a major turn around because, although Denzel Washington's character is helping Tom Hanks'
character in the lawsuit, he is actually homophobic and doesn't openly show a liking for them.

I also love this scene as the majority of it is shot from above the character, implying that with this piece, he loses himself within the music and no longer feels the need to be a part of this earth, but can transcend to a new life and forget his problem with AIDS.

Schweppes D&AD

Burst

Agency: Exit Films, Garth Davis
Client: Cadbury Schweppes
http://awards.dandad.org/2009/categories/tvcc/tv-cinema-crafts/19073/burst

This video caught my attention whilst looking further into the forthcoming D&AD.

The marriage between Audio and Visual elements within the video help to show the restraints of man-made objects upon nature and how, although trapped, nature seems to 'burst' out. This is beautifully represented by using water balloons and showing the explosive effect as the water is released.
By slowing the video down, 10 000 fps, the director is showing the audience something which you've always contemplated but never been able to find out. Its probably this idea of revelation which attracted me to this piece.
Water, although unpredictable, complements the man-made objects in this piece as they take the shape of whatever they are in. This can be seen as the balloons explode, revealing the water shape, without the balloons restriction. This split second event, slowed down for us to admire, is something anyone could appreciate.
The audio track running alongside the video complements the idea of nature and revelation.

The tag line at the end of the cinematography is 'a moment of scweppervescence'. Taken from the word effervescence which describes both the drink they are promoting as well as my feelings towards the piece.

1.	to give off bubbles of gas, as fermenting liquors.

2.	to issue forth in bubbles.

3.	to show enthusiasm, excitement, liveliness